IFE4 - Putting the Puzzle Together: A Creative Team-Based Approach to Employee Health Care Purchasing

Choosing an employee health plan should be a collective decision-making process involving employees, HR, leadership teams, and board members. But often it gets punted to a few individuals and rushed through right before renewals are due. As a result, organizations may not be getting the best financial deal, and employees may face unexpected - and possibly unwelcome - changes in their plans. With health care as both one of the largest line items on an organization's budget and the most important benefit for employees, this is far from a best practice for health care purchasing.

One solution is to establish a health care purchasing feedback program. Starting with a small group of decision-makers, a feedback program can reach out to all audiences in an organization to solicit input on potential health insurance plans. By engaging a diverse group in the process, CHCs are ensured that all voices are heard when making critical decisions about what health care program best serves the organization and the employees.

This interactive workshop will delve into health care purchasing feedback programs, specifically focusing on one CHC's experience with this model and how it created early buy-in across all audiences for a completely new - and wholly beneficial - partial self-insurance program.

• Understand how a health care purchasing feedback program can create a sense of ownership and satisfaction with benefits across all internal audiences.
• Identify the various data collection methods involved with a health care purchasing feedback program and how to use them effectively in the decision-making process.
• Understand why it’s critical to start early and the strategies for engaging with all audiences in manageable ways.